Low-income seniors and families looking for housing will have an additional option next year at an affordable housing project in Carson City.

The Sierra Flats project broke ground on Butti Way and Airport Road in Carson City on Sept. 1. The project will have 160 affordable housing units and will be completed before the end of 2023.

The project is being constructed under the low-income guidelines set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sierra Flats will cater to seniors and families who make 60% or less of the median gross income in Carson City. Rents will range between $450 and $1,150.

The project by PalaSeek LLP, Oikos Development Corp. and CM Development  is one of a few public-private partnerships for affordable housing in the area. Northern Nevada is seeing a spate of multifamily construction but most have been for luxury or higher-priced apartment projects. 

In Reno-Sparks, for example, average rent reached a record high of $1,680 during the second quarter, according to real estate appraisal and consulting firm Johnson Perkins Griffin. The number is more than double the average rent of $836 during the same quarter 10 years ago.

“The Sierra Flats project will bring much-needed relief to low-income renters in Carson City who have struggled to keep up with the rising cost of living here in northern Nevada,” Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell said in a statement. “Public-private partnerships such as this are critical to ensure our community can continue to increase the number of available affordable housing units and create sustainable solutions for our housing crisis.”

Affordable housing is especially an issue in Nevada, which is facing a shortage of 84,000 affordable apartments for extremely low-income renters, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. The state has 20 affordable rentals for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to the organization. 

The Sierra Flats project is receiving funding from the Nevada Housing Division and the 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. The housing division is also providing HUD HOME funds as well as National Housing Trust Funds to the project to make rents affordable.
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“A lack of affordable housing impacts all aspects of us — our health, our happiness and our ability to dedicate ourselves to our families and careers,” said Gov. Steve Sisolak in a statement about the Sierra Flats project. 

“Getting just one more person into a home makes an incredible difference.”

Source: Reno Gazette Journal

PalaSeek LLP, Oikos Development Corporation, and CM Development, which make up Sierra Flats Senior GP, broke ground on a 160-unit Housing and Urban and Development (HUD) affordable housing project in Carson City this week.

Phase one of the Sierra Flats project will include 40 senior housing units and 40 family units with average rental prices expected to be between $450 and $1150. The project is intended for seniors and families whose income is not more than 60% of the Carson City median gross income. 

Average rents in northern Nevada have jumped 89% in the last seven years, from below $900 to $1680, according to the real estate appraisal and consulting firm Johnson Perkins Griffin.

These dramatic cost increases have left Nevadans facing the greatest challenge in finding affordable housing in the nation. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Nevada has a shortage of more than 84-thousand affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renters. There are only twenty affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in the state.
 
“The Sierra Flats project will bring much-needed relief to low-income renters in Carson City who have struggled to keep up with the rising cost of living here in northern Nevada,” Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell said. “Public-private partnerships such as this are critical to ensure our community can continue to increase the number of available affordable housing units and create sustainable solutions for our housing crisis.”

Carson City acquired the property for this project in 1960 and directed city staff to request proposals from developers for an affordable housing project in January 2019. The land was conveyed to the Sierra Flats developers earlier this year so construction could begin. 

“Our company was created in direct response to the lack of affordable housing across the country,” Oikos Development Corporation President and CEO Michael Snodgrass said. “We want to provide beautiful, energy-efficient, and sustainable solutions for low-income families and their communities.” 

The project will be built to the rigorous National Green Building Standard (NGBS), which requires independent, third-party verification that a building or development is designed and built to high performance in the following areas:  site design, resource efficiency, water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and operation and maintenance.

Sierra Flats will also include solar power to reduce tenant electricity costs and electric vehicle charging stations. 

"A lack of affordable housing impacts all aspects of us -- our health, our happiness and our ability to dedicate ourselves to our families and careers," said Governor Steve Sisolak. "The work we are doing together is imperative: getting just one more person into a home makes an incredible difference. I'm proud to work with organizations across the State to do this critical work."

Sierra Flats Senior LP is funded through the Nevada Housing Division and the 9% tax credit program.  In addition, HOME funds and National Housing Trust Funds are being provided by the Nevada Housing Division to ensure rents are affordable.
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Sierra Flats is expected to be complete before the end of 2023.

Source: 2 News